Timber–Reinforced Concrete Core Hybrid System: Shake Table Experimental Test

The law to promote the use of wood in the construction industry was announced by the Japanese government in 2010. As a result of this initiative, timber and timber-based hybrid buildings are increasingly used in public buildings. As the buildings are located in high seismic zone areas, however, validation of the current design guideline was of paramount importance. This paper reports the design and a shake table test of timber frame–reinforced concrete (RC) core hybrid systems. Three specimens (S1, S2, and S3) are tested: S1 and S2 are both one-story buildings with a nailed plywood floor (flexible diaphragm) and a rigid RC floor (rigid diaphragm), respectively. S3 is a two-story building with a nailed plywood floor. Each specimen is tested with increasing magnitude of earthquake loading. The shake table test results showed that the adopted design guideline is sufficient. At higher seismic loads, however, the prevalent plan irregularity induced higher torsional demand damage at the RC core and timber connection region.